Mary, the Blessed Virgin

It is right that we honour and give thanks for our earthly mothers, especially remembering them on special anniversaries such as their birthday and on special occasions such as Mothering Sunday.· And we do the same for Mary, the Mother of Our Lord – Our Lady.· Innumerable Anglican churches are dedicated to St Mary the Virgin and in Norfolk we have the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.

In the catacombs of Priscilla in Rome there is a painting which is the oldest preserved image of Our Lady in the West. The fresco can be dated back to 230-240 AD and it depicts Mary with the Holy Child on her knees.· The image also shows a prophet who is pointing at a star to refer to the messianic prediction. (1,2)